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Agent skill

Communication Style

by tzachbon in tzachbon/smart-ralph

Output rules for all agents - concise, scannable, actionable.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Communication Style

skills CLI
$ npx skills add tzachbon/smart-ralph --skill communication-style -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install tzachbon/smart-ralph communication-style --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/tzachbon/smart-ralph.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/plugins/ralph-speckit/skills/communication-style .claude/skills/communication-style && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
communication-style
GitHub stars
559
Token cost
~702 tokens
SKILL.md length
221 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
26
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Output rules for all agents - concise, scannable, actionable.

  • Works in 4 steps: Brevity First → Structure for Scanning → End with Action Steps → …
  • Tasks that involve Spec-driven development
  • SKILL.md covers Core Rule, Why, Output Rules and Anti-Patterns, plus 2 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Communication Style is an agent skill from tzachbon/smart-ralph. Output rules for all agents - concise, scannable, actionable. Based on Matt Pocock's planning principles.

Its SKILL.md is about 700 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Development, covering Spec-driven development. The repository describes itself as: Spec-driven development with smart compaction. Claude Code plugin combining Ralph Wiggum loop with structured specification workflow. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Spec-driven development

Example prompts

  • “/communication-style”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Brevity First
  2. Structure for Scanning
  3. End with Action Steps
  4. Surface Questions Early

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit ac7251a. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are markdown).

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Communication Style loads about 702 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 31 tokens; SKILL.md has 221 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~31
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~702

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from tzachbon/smart-ralph at commit ac7251a, republished under its MIT licence (© tzachbon). 221 words, ~702 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/communication-style/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
communication-style
description
Output rules for all agents - concise, scannable, actionable. Based on Matt Pocock's planning principles.
version
0.1.0

Communication Style

Core Rule

Be extremely concise. Sacrifice grammar for concision.

Why

  • Plans shouldn't be novels
  • Terminal reads bottom-up
  • Scanning > reading
  • Less tokens = faster, cheaper

Output Rules

1. Brevity First
Instead ofWrite
"The user will be able to...""User can..."
"This component is responsible for...""Handles..."
"In order to achieve this, we need to...""Requires:"
"It should be noted that..."(delete)

Use:

  • Fragments over full sentences
  • Tables over paragraphs
  • Bullets over prose
  • Diagrams over descriptions
2. Structure for Scanning

Every output follows this order:

text
1. Brief overview (2-3 sentences MAX)
2. Main content (tables, bullets, diagrams)
3. Unresolved questions (if any)
4. Numbered action steps (ALWAYS LAST)
3. End with Action Steps

ALWAYS end with numbered concrete steps.

markdown
## Next Steps

1. Create auth module at src/auth/
2. Add JWT dependency
3. Implement login endpoint
4. Add tests

This is the LAST thing visible in terminal. Most important = most visible.

4. Surface Questions Early

Before action steps, list unresolved questions:

markdown
## Unresolved Questions

- OAuth provider preference? (Google, GitHub, both)
- Session duration requirement?
- Rate limiting needed?

Catches ambiguities before they become bugs.

Anti-Patterns

Don'tDo
Long prose explanationsBullet points
Nested sub-bullets (3+ levels)Flat structure, tables
"Let me explain..."(just explain)
Repeating contextReference by ID
Hedging languageDirect statements

Examples

Bad (verbose)
text
The authentication system will need to handle user login
functionality. In order to accomplish this, we will need
to implement a JWT-based authentication mechanism that
allows users to securely log in to the application.
Good (concise)
text
Auth system: JWT-based login

Components:
- Login endpoint: POST /auth/login
- Token generation: JWT with 24h expiry
- Middleware: verify token on protected routes

SpecKit-Specific Guidelines

Constitution References

Use markers, not prose:

  • [C§3.1] not "as defined in constitution section 3.1"
  • [MUST] not "this is required by our principles"
User Story References

Use IDs:

  • [US1] not "the first user story about..."
  • T001 [US1] links task to story
Task Descriptions

Include file path inline:

  • Add auth middleware \src/middleware/auth.ts``
  • Not "Create a new file called auth.ts in the middleware folder"

© tzachbon, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in plugins/ralph-speckit/skills/communication-style of tzachbon/smart-ralph.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit ac7251a

Compare with similar skills

Communication Style next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Communication Style compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Communication Style this skilltzachbon/smart-ralph559—~702Automated safety check: PassMIT
Ss SpecSerial-Studio/Serial-Studio7.2k—~766Automated safety check: PassCustom licence
BiSheng SDD Document Reviewdataelement/bisheng12k—~717Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Spec-Driven Developmentaddyosmani/agent-skills104k1 repos~3.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
MoAI SPEC Workflowmodu-ai/moai-adk1.2k—~5.1kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
MVP Technical DesignKhazP/vibe-coding-prompt-template3.1k—~512Automated safety check: PassMIT

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  • Spec Workflow

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Categories

Questions about Communication Style

What does Communication Style do?

Output rules for all agents - concise, scannable, actionable. Communication Style is an agent skill from tzachbon/smart-ralph. Output rules for all agents - concise, scannable, actionable.

When should I use Communication Style?

Communication Style fits situations like: tasks that involve Spec-driven development.

How do I install Communication Style in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add tzachbon/smart-ralph --skill communication-style -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/ralph-speckit/skills/communication-style in tzachbon/smart-ralph) into .claude/skills/communication-style in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Communication Style in Codex?

Run `npx skills add tzachbon/smart-ralph --skill communication-style -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (plugins/ralph-speckit/skills/communication-style in tzachbon/smart-ralph) into .agents/skills/communication-style in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Communication Style in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add tzachbon/smart-ralph --skill communication-style -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/communication-style, .gemini/skills/communication-style, .github/skills/communication-style and .opencode/skills/communication-style in your project.

What does Communication Style need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Communication Style is instructions for the agent only.

Does Communication Style access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Communication Style safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Communication Style use?

Communication Style is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Communication Style use?

About 702 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.8k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Communication Style?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Communication Style: Ss Spec (Serial-Studio/Serial-Studio, 7.2k stars), BiSheng SDD Document Review (dataelement/bisheng, 12k stars), Spec-Driven Development (addyosmani/agent-skills, 104k stars) and MoAI SPEC Workflow (modu-ai/moai-adk, 1.2k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Communication Style?

tzachbon (a GitHub user) maintains it in tzachbon/smart-ralph, which has 559 GitHub stars. The repository holds 26 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 16, 2026.

Source: tzachbon/smart-ralph on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.